Bartender Feature: The Horsefeather Mobile Bar

The women behind the Horsefeather Mobile Bar are familiar and well-loved around our hometown of Crested Butte, whether behind the bar at Montanya Distillers, serving a drink at another local establishment or even teaching people to ride single track on their mountain bikes. So it was extra special (and extra fun) to spend a fall evening capturing photos of their beautiful mobile bar with one of our favorite photographers, Nathan Bilow. It’s easy to see why their retrofitted horse trailer and their bartending services are growing in popularity!

Carissa Allain and Heidi Shabo in their Horsefeather Mobile Bar.

Names: Carissa Allain and Heidi Shabo
Title: Owners of the Horsefeather Mobile Bar
Bartending Experience: Collectively around 10 years

A Vision for Something Different

Carissa: The Horsefeather Mobile Bar is a 1970s horse trailer that was designed to give you the complete bar experience for your special event. We are fully equipped to serve beer on tap, wine, or a full bar service. The Horsefeather also provides custom module bars that fit perfectly inside any venue.

Heidi: We repurposed a 1970s rusty two-horse horse trailer into a mobile bar that was built mostly by my husband, Andy, with the aesthetic design by Carissa & I. We opted for a trailer with a ramp, knowing we wanted to use that ramp as an extension to our inside dimensions and also offer guests a place to stand and set their drinks and chat with us or other guests.

Carissa (right) designed the pattern on the custom extension and Heidi’s husband helped build the mobile bar. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

Carissa designed the custom woodwork pattern to that extension. It's a unique addition that certainly sets us apart from other horse trailer mobile bars. We want to bring the full experience to our events. Good cocktails, genuine and smiling bartenders, all the way to a space that invites the guests to really mingle and have a great time.

How They Discovered Bartending

Heidi: I started working for Karen at Montanya Distillers about five years ago. I instantly adored the job for many reasons. The main ones being the drinks were incredibly and dangerously delicious. I enjoyed chatting with people about where they live and why they're here. It always amazed me that if you got to chatting with a customer for only a few minutes you somehow could find something you have in common with them. It's such a small world!

Carissa: Our idea of bartending has changed drastically since we first started in the industry. When we first moved to the area it was just what worked best with our ski bum lifestyle. Over the years we would see people come and go and recognized that it really does take a unique type of person to tend bar.

We learned to respect the classic cocktails but also realized we could let the creativity flow. Crafting beautiful, great tasting cocktails finished off with the perfect garnish is surprisingly one of the most rewarding feelings for an artist. The possibilities and flavor pairings are endless, every event looks very different, and every group becomes your family. It can be mentally and physically exhausting, but to us that is a bartender’s version of unconditional love.

What Sets the Horsefeather Mobile Bar Apart

Carissa: Plain and simple: we are the friendliest darn bartenders you’ll ever meet, our custom-built bars are designed to function with any venue, and we work meticulously with the host to make the perfect bar menu for their specific style. All of this coming together and putting a smile on someone’s face with a delicious drink we created makes it worth all the hard work.

Heidi: Craft cocktails. We will serve whatever our clients want us to serve, certainly, but not before suggesting new, fun, and unique options. I have Montanya to thank for that. I've been absolutely spoiled by the quality and freshness to their cocktails. All cocktails should be treated with the same care and TLC.

Horse trailer bars are an up and coming trend, though it seems many people have never seen or heard of them before. In addition to being the beverage caterer of events, we add an extremely unique decoration. Long gone are the days of a simple table with linen!

Heidi Shabo, left, and Carissa Allain of the Horsefeather Mobile Bar. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

When it Comes to Craft Cocktails, We Wish More People Knew…

Heidi: Keeping it simple. Often drinks get ruined a bit by too many ingredients or too many liqueurs. Start with an incredible spirit, and use fresh and simple ingredients and infusions to create cocktails that have pure flavors.

Carissa: The enjoyment and difficulty of creating custom craft cocktails for each event. With proper time and management, the perfect drink can help make an event. Helping us with a full understanding of your event will make sure these craft cocktail expectations are met.

On Using Montanya Rums

Carissa: We love making non-rum drinkers fall in love with Montanya Distillers. This spirit is so fun to work with because the quality ingredients make it easy to keep it simple and cost friendly for our clients. The saying “less is more” is the best way to describe how we use Montanya Rum; the smoothness of this rum gives us the ability to use just the essential ingredients and let the true taste shine.

Heidi and Carissa with Montanya founder and owner Karen Hoskin. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

Heidi: We consider the season of the event and suggest cocktails with ingredients that are their most delicious for that month… a note to ourselves, you will not easily find rhubarb in September! From there, we have gathered information on their likes and dislikes. If they like vodka, we often suggest Platino cocktails. If they favor whiskey we suggest Oro cocktails. Many times the bride & groom love the idea of offering their guests signature cocktails with local rum. It really adds to the party-goers experience!

Most Memorable Cocktail Experiences

Heidi: Aside from the few that I've spilled on laps—those I'll never forget—is the one drink I created on Montanya's menu. I love to tell the story of how it came to be. It took me a long time to come up with good cocktails and many of my creations went right down the drain. This cocktail actually came to me in a silly dream I had one night. When I went into work the next day I had to make it, and with a few adjustments, The Kokomo was born! (It was my one-hit-wonder for a really long time!)

Carissa: When Heidi kept her cool and created the “Pink Rose” all while I was panicking on a drink choice made by a client. In a hectic moment of the summer, it was great to have a partner who can role with the punches. This cocktail became one of the most popular signature drinks on our inspiration menu. (Recipe below.)

Night at the Horsefeather Mobile Bar. Photo by Nathan Bilow.

When it Comes to Trying New Cocktails

Heidi: Life's too short to not try new cocktails. 😉

Carissa: Most bartenders believe in drinking what you love, whatever that beverage may be. It’s okay if you drive a Harley and can wrestle a mountain lion, if you want to try the “Pink Rose” cocktail just tell us! It’s delicious! Some cocktails are more time consuming than others, but how boring would it be if everyone ordered vodka sodas? Don’t be afraid to ask your bartender for advice, we feed off of your ideas!

Cocktail Recipe: The Pink Rose

2 oz Montanya Platino Rum
1 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit
.5 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
.75 oz Housemade Rosebud & Cardamom simple syrup

Gently muddle one cardamom and shake & strain all ingredients and pour over ice.